Tim Howard Vs Brad Friedel: Tottenham Goalkeeper Denies Blocking Manchester United Move, Demands Apology

A war of words has erupted between two American soccer legends after Tim Howard accused Brad Friedel of trying to block his move to Manchester United.

Tim Howard has claimed that the 43-year-old shot-stopper, who still plays for Tottenham Hotspur, refused to support Howard’s work-permit application back in 2004.

Manchester United had already agreed to a $4 million deal for Howard with the Metrostars, but they still needed to get a work permit in order for the goalkeeper to be able to play in the Premier League.

Howard has now written in his autobiography, The Keeper, that Brad Friedel, who at the time played for Blackburn Rovers, didn’t endorse his application by refusing to provide a letter of support.

According to the BBC, Howard documents this tumultuous time in his life by claiming that Friedel was actively trying to block his transfer to the English giants.

“The legal team at Manchester United told me that Brad hadn’t merely refused to sign a statement on my behalf, he had actively tried to block my transfer. He’d written to the appeals committee suggesting that I shouldn’t be given a work permit at all.”

Brad Friedel has now responded to these accusations by telling ESPN that they are completely fabricated.

“It is complete garbage. I never sabotaged and I never stood in the way of Tim Howard getting a work permit. This is ludicrous.”

However Friedel, who has played for the likes of Blackburn, Tottenham, Liverpool, and Aston Villa during his distinguished career in England, did confirm that he refused to sign a letter of support for Howard that was provided to him by Bruce Arena, the then manager of the US national side.

Friedel noted that he didn’t sign it because he believed it was inaccurate.

“It said that I had been in direct competition with Tim Howard for the starting job on the USA national team for the last two years, when anyone who follows soccer knew it was between Kasey Keller and I.”

“Yes, I refused to sign that. We got the letter and said ‘We have to change this, because this isn’t true.’ We made our changes and sent it back. They didn’t like what I was going to sign so they didn’t use it. And that was the end of the matter.”

The Professional Footballer’s Association confirmed on Wednesday that they hadn’t received any additional correspondence from Friedel trying to sabotage Howard’s work permit.

[Image via SI]